Asylum seekers involved in case against Government to be transferred from Villawood to Curtin

The Immigration Department is planning to move asylum seekers who are taking legal action against the Federal Government from Sydney to one of the country's most remote detention centres, just a day before their case returns to court on Friday.

The ABC has obtained a notification sent to 83 detainees from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, which claims the reason for the move is the redevelopment of Villawood Detention Centre.

"[They] are being transferred to Curtin Immigration Detention Centre on 3 April 2014 as Villawood Immigration Detention Centre is undergoing redevelopment work which affects the number of people who can be located there," the notification states.

"Detainees have already had their mobile phones removed from them so they are unable to communicate with anybody before their removal," she said.

Ms Byers believes the mass transfer is an attempt to stymie her from representing asylum seekers who have lodged legal claims against the Government for leaking the details of nearly 10,000 asylum seekers in the country.

Detainees in New South Wales, Western Australia and the Northern Territory are claiming the breach exposed them to persecution from authorities in their home countries, and therefore are entitled to automatic protection.

The matter is due back in court on Friday in Sydney.

I think it is clear the Government's intention is to isolate people as much as they can.

Senator Sarah Hanson Young

But if the transfer of Villawood asylum seekers goes ahead, some of those involved in the case will not be located in Sydney near their legal representatives.

In the official notification from the department, the 83 detainees were told to pack no more than 20 kilograms of luggage for the plane trip. The rest of their belongings would be forwarded later.

Located in the Kimberley region in Western Australia's far north-west, Curtin Immigration Reception and Processing Centre has a chequered history.

Former immigration minister Philip Ruddock once called it the country's most primitive processing centre.

Its worst critics called it "a gulag". Curtin was shut down by the Howard government following a riot in 2002 but was re-opened in 2010 under the Rudd/Gillard government.

Villawood has also been strongly criticised in the past. The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission in 2008 called for the closure of the facility in Sydney's west, citing harsh and inhospitable conditions.

Advocates question need for mass relocation

A new section at Villawood accommodating 150 people is due for completion at the end of April.

For that reason, campaigners are calling into question the need for the mass relocation of 83 asylum seekers on Thursday.